Baked Ratatouille with Goat Cheese
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Here’s my go-to version of ratatouille, the classic Mediterranean dish loaded with layers of colorful vegetables that practically shout summertime. Bake it until bubbly and fragrant, then top it off with dollops of basil pesto and creamy goat cheese when it’s fresh from the oven. Easy, fuss-free, and totally delicious!
If you’re searching for a vegetarian main dish with a TON of flavor, baked ratatouille is it! This recipe is a fresh and simple version of a traditional French ratatouille recipe, with a colorful balance of colorful veggies.
What I love about roasting the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers (instead of stewing them in a soup pot) is that it concentrates their flavor. That magical sweetness is one reason roasted vegetables taste so good.
Classic ratatouille ingredients
- Eggplant: Choose fresh, glossy-skinned purple eggplant that are not too large and feel firm to the touch. I usually keep the skin on, or peel it off in random strips. To salt or not to salt: This is a question I get asked a lot, but be assured that you don’t need to salt eggplant. Generations ago, the type of eggplants that were grown tasted bitter. Salting the flesh before cooking helped to take some of that bitterness away. It also made the eggplant’s flesh softer for frying without absorbing too much oil. Newer varieties are bred to be less bitter, so it’s totally fine to skip it.
- Summer squash: I use zucchini and sometimes yellow squash, but I recommend that you seek out smaller ones, if possible, because they contain less seeds and release less water as they bake.
- Tomatoes: Ripe, sweet garden tomatoes would be ideal, right? Otherwise, I suggest the greenhouse grown vine tomatoes available in your grocery store, year round.
- Bell Peppers: Red or orange bells are my choice. Green bell peppers aren’t as sweet, so I never use them in ratatouille.
Basic recipe steps
1. Toss chopped eggplant, squash, peppers, and red onion with olive oil and herbs. 
2. In a shallow pan or roasting dish, layer the vegetables over tomato puree and top with sliced cherry tomatoes. Bake about 30 minutes. 
3. Crumble cheese over the ratatouille and dollop with basil pesto sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Baked Ratatouille with Goat Cheese and Pesto
Equipment
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 g) eggplant
- 2 small zucchini, 8-10 ounces total, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded and sliced into large bite-size pieces
- 1 small red onion, sliced (about ½cup)
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves , plus 3 or 4 sprigs
- 1 cup (250 ml) canned crushed tomatoes or puree
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup plum, vine or cherry tomatoes , sliced into quarters or halved if using cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup (75 g) soft goat cheese, or crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) basil pesto sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 (220 C) degrees.
- Peel the eggplant, if you prefer, or leave some of the skin on in strips. Trim off the stem, slice into quarters lengthwise, then slice into 1-inch thick half moons.
- Put the eggplant in a large bowl with the zucchini, bell pepper and onion. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves and toss together.
- Stir the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, garlic, crushed red pepper and black pepper into the crushed tomatoes. Spread over the bottom of a 4-5 quart casserole or baking dish.
- Arrange the vegetable mixture in the dish in one layer. Top with the sliced tomatoes and thyme sprigs. Bake 30-35 minutes. The juices should be bubbling and the eggplant tender when pierced with a the tip of a knife. Remove the thyme stems (you can crumble the leaves over the dish first).
- Sprinkle the goat cheese over the ratatouille and drizzle with the pesto. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- A batch of this baked ratatouille serves up to 6 people as a side, or 4 as a main dish. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezing: Prepare and bake without the cheese and pesto. Freeze in a well wrapped container for up to 1 month. Defrost and heat at 350F about 20 minutes. Add the cheese and pesto before serving.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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a little confused on the cook ahead. So I do the whole recipe, bake it, then stick it in the refrigerator for up to five days. Then reheat before serving?
Hi Joe – If you want to prep this 5 days ahead, I suggest baking as directed, but leave off the cheese and pesto. Reheat at 350F, covered, for 15-20 minutes. Then add the cheese and pesto just before serving.
BIG YUM!
I left out the bell peppers, cause I don’t like them.
Can you use broccoli or cabbage in this recipe? I love Ratatouille, this sounds delicious!
You could use either – just be sure to cut them into smaller pieces so they become tender along with the other veggies.
What a great way to “deal” with a surplus of zucchini! I can’t wait to try this.
–Liza
This was delicious; made with lots of veggies from our garden and homemade pesto. The goat cheese and pesto added a nice punch.
Thanks.
I add red wine,oregano,lemon peel & tomato paste to the olive oil mixture.Be sure not to undercook this dish. brings out that deep Provence flavor).
can I ask please, the eggplant. Every recipe I have ever done using eggplant has called for sprinkling with salt after slicing, and leaving for a while then rinsing off before cooking. Something about them having a bitter taste if you don’t … is that the case? Many thanks 🙂 I want to try this recipe for sure !
Hi Rona – that’s such a great question! I’ve been cooking eggplant for years and years, and pretty much NEVER do the pre-salting before cooking. My opinion is that it’s an old-school technique. Modern varieties of eggplant are not too bitter. Choose fresh, firm eggplant and you’ll be good to go.
thank you so much! I will bake this tonight 🙂
I have make this dish but I love vegetables so I’ll try it this weekend. I’ll let you know how I do.
Yes please let me know!
This looks SO yummy! Thank you for sharing! ?
What a colorful dish!! Can’t wait to try.